1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to chewing gum compositions comprising wheat gluten and to methods for manufacturing such compositions.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional chewing gums have achieved broad success in the marketplace. Such chewing gums typically comprise gum base and other components that provide pleasant chewing characteristics. Unfortunately, conventional chewing gums have several drawbacks. Conventional chewing gum bases are not "biodegradable," or digestible, and disposal of conventional chewing gums can cause unsightly litter.
Gluten has been tried as a digestible and biodegradable alternative to conventional chewing gum base. U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,815 to Hashimoto et al., issued on Jun. 4, 1974, for example, is directed to the use of a gum base of gluten denatured more than 10%.
Another attempt to use gluten as a gum base, U.S. Pat. No. 2,469,861 to Cohoe, issued May 10, 1949, is directed to a chewing gum base comprising a combination of zein and wheat gluten. U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,675 to Lutz, issued Feb. 19, 1952, is also directed to an edible chewing gum composition comprising wheat gluten.
Japanese Patent No. 52,096,771, published Aug. 13, 1977, is directed to using freeze-dried wheat gluten in chewing gum. Japanese Patent No. 54,044,071, published Apr. 7, 1979, is directed to a wheat gluten chewing gum base made by cross-linking wheat gluten with a protein, polysaccharides, saccharides and oligiosaccharides, such as starch, mannan, agar, gum arabic, curdlan, and dextran. The cross-linking is carried out by application of microwaves and is done in the presence of water.
Japanese Patent No. 52,120,168, published Oct. 8, 1977, is directed to a chewing gum-like food containing 5-50% fibrous milk protein, 5-30% non-edible chewing gum base, 50-95% edible nougat (or both), sweetener and flavoring.
Wheat gluten has also been used an a oil absorbing agent in a conventional, chocolate, chewing gum in Japanese Patent No. 59,055,148, published Mar. 30, 1984, and gluten has been used as a pigment retention agent in conventional chewing gum in Japanese Patent No. 58,094,350, published Jun. 4, 1983.
Gluten has also found use in a variety of fields. U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,440 to Hobl, issued Nov. 5, 1968 is directed to a heat stable wheat protein suspension by bringing denatured wheat gluten into an aqueous suspension and establishing a pH of 3.7 to 4.9 by the addition of a food acid, for use in bakery goods. U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,829 to Lowen is directed to the use of wheat gluten in medicinal capsules.
Despite the use of gluten in other fields, gluten's use in the chewing gum field has been hampered by a number of organoleptic factors, and no gluten based chewing gum has gained wide acceptance in the American market, regardless of the advantages of a degradable, edible chewing gum.